Serving wagon



H. C. DONER SERVING WAGON v 2 sheets-sheet 1 Aug. 9, 1949.

Filed Feb. 10, 1944 Bnnentor HALBERT CRESTON DO NER Gtorueg H. C. DONERSERVING WAGON Aug. 9 1949.

Filed Feb. l0, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Snventor Cttorneg ,Yi INI HALBERTCRESTON DONER FIG. 3

l Y 'l ai-Q Patented Aug. 9, 1949 llalbcrt Creston Doner, Toledonhio,assignorztc Libbey-OwensfFord GlassY Company, Toledo, Ohio, acorporation of Ohio Application February 1o, 194i, serial No. V521,1;871 clarin. (o1. zia-i9) The present invention relates to a novel type ofserving wagon and more particularly to a specially designed unit of thisgeneral character embodying a portable cupboard and hot food server.

The apparatus of the invention forms a part of s. comprehensive andrevolutionary setup of kitchen and dining equipment, other andcooperating units of which have already been disclosed in detail in myDesign Patents No. 135,813, dated June 15, 1943, Wall cabinet; No.135,842, dated June 22, 1943, Combination kitchen unit"; and in mycopending applications Serial No. 466,582, filed Nov. 23, 1942 andissued Jan. 4, 1949 as Patent No. 2,457,877, Cooking unit; Serial No.467,605, filed Dec. 2,1942, Combination oven unit; Serial No. D.111,215, led Sept. 27, 1943, (now Design Patent No. 137,946) Mixingdevice;. Serial No. D. 111,216, filed Sept. 27, 1943, (now Design PatentNo. 139,245) Tea wagon"; Serial No. D. 111,217, led Sept. 27, 1943, (nowDesign Patent No. 137,861) Combined table and wall plaque; Serial No. D.111,218, iiled Sept. 27, 1943, (now Design Patent No. 137,791) Combinedrefrigerator cabinet and partition; and Serial No. D. 111,219, filedSept. 27, 1943, (noW Design Patent No. 137,792) Combination oven unit.

Generally speaking, the primary purpose of this invention is theprovision of a mobile cabinet of attractive appearance which, when inuse,l isA adapted to place the adjuncts of faultless table service andpiping hot food within easy reach of the hostess throughout an entiremeal, and while she isseated comfortably at the table.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a wheeled cupboardwith readily accessible compartments for linen, dishes and silver;combined with a series of temperature controlled receptacles withinwhich food can be appetizingly displayed and at the same time maintainedat its proper serving temperature. y Another object is the provision ofal unit of the above character, portions of which can be moved tok openor closed position to expose or conceal the contents of the cabinet, andlwhich when entirelyA closed constitutes an unobtrusive but Vattractivepiece of furniture.

A Vfurther object is to provide a serving unit which makes it possibleto serve food at the table, directly from the vessel in which it hasbeen cooked, with all the attendant advantages of fewer dishes, and foodat its best, but with no embarrassing display of pots and pansv that areunsightly and awkward to handle. y

Stillanotherobiect is the inrovisio'n o! 'a com'- pact portable servingcabinet in which rregularly used china, silver and linen can be storedready for use, so that it is only necessary to transfer food receptaclesfrom the stove to the servingwagon in order to provide a complete tableand food service ready to be wheeled into position.

Further 'objects and advantages of the 'invention will become moreapparent during the course of the following 'description when taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings wherein like numerals are employed to designate likeparts throughout the same:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the serving wagon ofthe "invention, withboth vsections Vof its cover or vtop 'in open position;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but on arecluced scale and showingthe cover sections closed; and

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3'in Fig. 2.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the complete servingwagon, which has been designated in its entirety by the Vletter A, maybe made of wood, metal, plywood, or Vother suitable material. As shown,it is substantially rectangular in shape and includes a U shaped frameI0 which forms the bottom II and opposite side members I2 and I3 of thewagon. Partially inset into 'the bottom II, adjacent its four corners,are short posts I4 provided with rounded tops and carrying in theirlower ends the casters or wheels I5 upon which the Wagon is adapted tobe moved. Suitable handles I6 are 'formed at convenient locations on theside members I2 and I3.

Extending between the sides I2 and I3, and positioned flush with theirupper edges, is a cabinet or cupboard I1 which provides the principalcarrying and storage `space in the wagon. This is supplemented',however, by an intermediate shelf I8, Vand the bottom II of the frameIll also furnishes additional shelf space.

The 'cabinet Il is in the form of a housing I9 that is substantiallyrectangular in shape, but with its longitudinal sides slanting inwardlyfrom top to bottom, and is closed by two cover sections 20 and 2l hingedat '22 and 23 respectively. Positioned at the front of the Ahousing is awarming tablev or food conditioning unit v24 comprising a body-portionin the form .of a'rectangular double walled shell 25 iilled withinsulation 26 and provided wlth a series of recesses 21 for receivingcooking vessels '29 or other equipment from the kitchen.

While the serving wagon of this invention 'is not restricted to usefincooperation with any specie cooking device, it is particularly welladapted to serve food from a stove or cooking unit such as that shownand described in my copending application Serial No. 466,582, led Nov.23, 1942 and issued Jan. 4, 1949 as Patent No. 2,457,877. In that casethe cooking unit is of the Well-type and is built to accommodate thecooking vessels designatedl 29 in the instant application.

Although not essential, it is preferred that the cooking vessels 29 bemade square or rectangular4 with rounded corners, and of course therecesses 2'| in which they t are correspondingly shaped. When thecooking vessels are placed in the recesses 2'|, they are adapted tobesupported by the top Wall 30 of the shell 25 in such a way that theymay be readily removed. To this end each vessel 29 is provided at itsVvupper end with, a rim 3| adapted to rest within a slight annulardepression 32 surrounding the respective recessed portion, when thevessel is lowered into its recess.

With suchV a construction, the cooking vessels may be readilytransferred back and forth between the stove and the serving wagon orremoved as desired for filling, serving, and cleaning.

Each cooking vessel 29 is also provided with a cover 33 preferablyconsisting of a plate of tempered glass, which may be either at .orbent, and is provided with handle 34 secured thereto in any suitablemanner. The glass cover plate 33 is supported upon the rim 3| of thecooking vessel and for this purpose the said rim may be formed, as shownin Fig. 3, with a substantially horizontal ledge 35 upon which the coverplate rests, and with :a substantially vertical shoulder 36 for holdingit against accidental displacement. The recesses 2l are preferably madeof Varying sizes so as to accommodate cooking vessels of differentcapacities, and recesses may alsov be provided to receive toasters,waffle irons, coffee makers and other devices which are convenient tohave in proximity to the table during the course of a meal. For example,a t-oaster is indi-` cated at 29' (Fig. 1) andthis, as well as otherelectrical appliances, can either be .built intothe serving wagon ormerely slipped into an appropriately shaped recess before bringing thewagon in from the kitchen. .In thelater event, suitableVelectricalcontacts can be provided in the Vre-Y cess where they will .beautomatically engaged by similar contacts on the appliance whengit isVinserted in therecess.' The necessary electrical current can be suppliedfrom any 'floor or wall outlet by means of a common cord and plug'connection 28 leading to the electrical .circuit of the serving wagon..

.The insulated shell .25 will of course act, to maintain the temperatureof th-e foods `in the vessels when they are placed in the recesses.However, in many cases it may be found desirable to actually 4heat thefood while in the serving wagon, and for this purpose electrical heatingelements 31 are installed in the bottom of the recesses Afor operationfrom suitable rheostatic controls (not shown). .A Ibaille. plate or heatspreader 38 may be interposed between the heating element and the bottomof the pan if desired, and it will be understood that cooling ratherthan heating elements may be provided in certain of the recesses. Withthe heater arran-gement, food can be served sizzling hotV or maintainedat high temperatures over long periods.. Orr, foods that have beenpartially cooked in the kitchen ,maybe brought to their final state ofperfection at the table and then served immediately.

Aspointed out above, in addition to the pro-V 4 visions for servingperfectly conditioned food, the serving wagon also makes readilyavailable a rather complete service of china, silver and linen. To thisend the housing 9 is provided with a curved partition 39 extendingbetween the back wall of the shell 25 and a Stringer 4D adjacent theupper rear corner of the housing and upon which the rear cover section2| is hinged. The partition 39 is provided with a series of laterallyextending slits 4| of different extent for receiving varying sizeddishes, and with a series of openings 42 for cups or glasses. Mountedbeneath the partition 39, upon the inner walls of the housing I9, aresuitable supports 43 for the dishes. These are preferably provided witha contacting surface of some soft resilient material such as spongerubber to protect the china from breakage or chipping and to preventrattling.

The proximity of the c-hina storage area to the hot food compartmentwill normally result in this area also serving as a plate warmingcompartment. By the provision of suitable ducts (not shown) to divertsurplus heat from the shell 25 together with the proper arrangement ofinsulation, this feature of providing dishes that are at the propertemperature can be regulated andv controlled.

Thetwo cover sections 2U and 2| which meet near theA middle of thecabinet when in closed position, also serve as astorage space for linenand silverware respectively. Thus, the forward section 2U, which extendsout horizontally from the serving Wagon when in open position, forms a@Ompartment 44 having a bottom wall 45 and one side wall 46 which followthe outline of the housingv I9; when the cover section is in closedposition. The opposite side wall 41 and two end walls 48 andj49 4arevertically arranged and are preferably made of materials that aresimilar inthickness and finish to the endportions |2 and I3 of the frameil. The compartment 4,4 can be divided up by suitable partitions, asshown inFig, l, and is provided with a transparent cover 5| of temperedheat-resisting glass. The cover 5i4 is hingedas at 52 to permit it to beopened when the cover section is in open position; and is engaged by aspring clip or other fastening means53 to hold it shut when the coversection is in closedposition.

.The rear cover section 2| is adapted to be moved upwardly to theposition shown in Figs. and 3 when opened and consists of a flat pieceof materiaLrthe outer surface of which matches and follows the contourof the cabinet when closed, while the inner surface has xed theretoablock orholder 54. This block 54 is substantially rectangular in shapewith deeplyrounded, innervlongitudinal edges and is cut out as at 55 andprovided with recesses 56 opening into the cut-out portion for receivingknives, forks, spoons and the like 51. l

The shelf I8 is supported between the cabinet Il.A and the bottom of theframe Ill upon rods or lthe line 58 extending between the opposite sidemembers i2 and i3. The shelf is loose on the rods, being maintained inposition by locat-` ingz blocks 59, and consists essentially of a flatbottom member 60 carrying side boards 6|. The side boards maybe higheratsome points thanat others as shown at 62, and they shelf space may bedivided by suitable partitions. y ,Y As already noted, when the coversections 2.0 and 2| of the serving Wagonk are closed, it becomes anattractive but unobtrusivepicota of furniture which may be pushed out ofthe way or used as a rolling table, as desired. At this time, thedishes, linen, silver and cooking vessels can be stored in theirrespective receptacles where they are always ready for use.

In preparing a meal, the cooking vessels can be removed from the servingwagon as a preliminary to the preparation of the food, although with thecooking unit disclosed in application Serial No. 466,582, led November23, 1942 :and issued Jan. 4, 1949 as Patent No. 2,457,877, a duplicateset of cooking utensils that are already in the stove would be used. Atthe proper time the vessels containing the cooked food are transierredfrom the stove to the serving wagon which can then be closed and wheeledinto the dining space.

Arriving at the table, the cabinet is opened by throwing back the coversections 20 and 2 I. When this is done the top of the glass cover 5!should be ush with the top of the table and when the table top too is ofglass and is similar in finish to the serving wagon, the two will appearas parts of a single unit. The table can be completely set from theserving wagon with covers, china and silver from the variouscompartments and when the cover section 5l is closed, its heatresistingglass top will function as a serving shelf on which hot dishes can beplaced without damage.

The lower portions of the cooking vessels will be effectively concealedwithin the recesses 21, while the food can be clearly seen through thetransparent glass tops 33. At the same time the different kinds of foodcan be kept at exactly the right temperature by proper control of thetemperature control units Within the recesses, and can be serveddirectly from the cooking vessels by merely removing the transparentcovers 33. Used dishes and linen can be placed out of sight upon theshelf space Il and i8 for subsequent removal.

Electrical appliances for which no other provision is made in theserving wagon can be placed on the combined glass cover and servingshelf 5I and plugged into one or the other of the electrical outlets 5 lIt is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown anddescribed is to be taken as the preferred embodiment of the same, andthat various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may beresorted to without departing from the spirit or the invention or thescope of the subjoined claim.

1 claim:

A portable serving apparatus of the character described, including ahousing, a food serving unit within said housing comprising a recessedbody portion adapted to receive a food containing vessel, a concavepartition within and closing a portion oi said housing and provided withdish receiving openings, resilient supporting means behind certain ofsaid openings for engagement by the dishes when they are received withinthe openings, a plurality of cover sections for said housing, one orsaid sections being adapted to assume a substantially vertical positionwhen open and the other section being adapted to extend outwardly fromthe housing in a horizontal plane when in open position, a receptaclefor articles of table service associated with each of said coversections, and a transparent cover for the receptacle associated withsaid second-mentioned cover section.

HALBERT CRESTON DONER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,505,299 Stirn Aug. 19, 19241,513,357 Webber Oct. 28, 1924 1,585,884 Drinkwater May 25, 19261,859,193 Zahner Mar. 22, 1932 1,948,937 De Muth Feb. 27, 1934 1,962,454Meanor et al June 12, 1934 2,266,991 Parsons Dec. 23, 1941 2,269,689Reichold Jan. 13, 1942 2,341,648 Parr Feb. 15, 1944 2,346,795 Sabin Apr.18, 1944

